Former Australian prime minister Bob Hawke is walking with a cane

The man who is almost as legendary as his Labor PM predecessor Gough Whitlam was looking a bit frail at a net session with the Australian cricket team yesterday.

Well, he is 85.

But until now, the Australian public has been used to its celebrated, beer-skolling former leader looking a lot sharper, whether on the arm of his wife Blanche or locking former foes and current leaders in a steely gaze.